This invention relates to an IC card which contains an IC (integrated circuit) chip and more particularly to such an IC card which can provide better protection to its chip from static electricity.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are illustrations of a conventional IC card. FIG. 2A is a perspective view, FIG. 2B is a sectional side view of a vertical cut, left to right, through about the center of the conventional IC card of FIG. 2A.
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a conventional IC card is manufactured by mounting an integrated circuit 1 such as a memory or a circuit element on a substrate 2 and using a molding material such as plastic 4 to make a card. Contact pieces 3 through which information is transmitted and received are often formed on the substrate 2 as shown in FIG. 2B such that the integrated circuit 1 and the contact pieces 3 are on opposite surfaces of the substrate 2. In short, the contact pieces 3 of a conventional IC card are either on its front or back surface and are hence externally exposed see also FIG. 2A. This means that the contact pieces of conventional IC card are easily touched by its user. When they are touched by a person, the body's static electricity flows through these contact pieces into the integrated circuit buried inside the card. The circuit can easily be destroyed by such electricity.